Long Nguyen Likens Nike's Sneakers to Lanvin's Dresses, and Means It

Fashionista contributor Long Nguyen is the co-founder/style director of Flaunt.
It was just another mid-August weekend, when most New Yorkers seek refuge in the Hamptons, Fire Island or upstate along the Hudson, where the sea, sun and cool breeze surely beat the persistent humidity. Yet for the city’s basketball fans, Manhattan was the place to be these past few days.
That’s because the Global Community Cup visited New York. A bit like the World Cup of basketball, GCC held games at Madison Square Garden--the USA team played France and China played Puerto Rico at Madison Square Garden.
Next the GCC will head to Madrid, where the USA will take on Spain.
But what’s this got to do with fashion?

Fashionista contributor Long Nguyen is the co-founder/style director of Flaunt.
It was just another mid-August weekend, when most New Yorkers seek refuge in the Hamptons, Fire Island or upstate along the Hudson, where the sea, sun and cool breeze surely beat the persistent humidity. Yet for the city’s basketball fans, Manhattan was the place to be these past few days.
That’s because the Global Community Cup visited New York. A bit like the World Cup of basketball, GCC held games at Madison Square Garden--the USA team played France and China played Puerto Rico at Madison Square Garden.
Next the GCC will head to Madrid, where the USA will take on Spain.
But what’s this got to do with fashion?

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Fashionista contributor Long Nguyen is the co-founder/style director of Flaunt.

It was just another mid-August weekend, when most New Yorkers seek refuge in the Hamptons, Fire Island or upstate along the Hudson, where the sea, sun and cool breeze surely beat the persistent humidity. Yet for the city’s basketball fans, Manhattan was the place to be these past few days.

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That’s because the Global Community Cup visited New York. A bit like the World Cup of basketball, GCC held games at Madison Square Garden--the USA team played France and China played Puerto Rico at Madison Square Garden.

Next the GCC will head to Madrid, where the USA will take on Spain.

But what’s this got to do with fashion?

No other sport today is so interconnected to fashion as basketball. From the street level, where new styles are born, to fashion’s adoption of the hi-top as a replacement for dress shoes, it’s undeniable.

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In conjunction with these games, Nike, Brand Jordan, and Converse organized a series of events. Aptly titled the World Basketball Festival, it all started on Thursday with a USA exhibition game and a performance by Jay Z at Radio City Music Hall.

The festival included scrimmages, youth tournaments among local leagues, and workshops. Kobe Bryant coached kids at Harlem’s Ruckus Park, and Nike launched some new shoes: Nike Zoom Hyperfuse, the Hyperdunk 2010, and the Air Force 1 Foamposite.

To highlight its accomplishments in bringing basketball to a global audience, Nike built a small space called the Ball Room--at Frederick Douglass Blvd and 134th Street--outlining the history of basketball since the early 20th century.

On display is the first Converse all-star shoe--created in 1917--and the Nike Blazer, launched in 1974. Those are followed by other sneakers that have edged themselves into popular--and fashionable--culture: The Air Force 1 in 1983, the Air Jordan 1 in 1985, the Air Jordan XI in 1995, and the Foamposite in 1997. (The Ball Room remains open to the public until mid September.)

Nike also devotes an entire section to the evolution of shoe technology. Take, for example, the new Hyperfuse. Made specifically for players in China who practice in the rugged outdoors, the Hyperfuse combines a breathable outer layer of mesh nylon with a durable skin to create an extremely lightweight shoe--a size 9 weighs just 12.5 ounces.

This constant drive for technical innovation is akin to the some of the most forward fashion designers working today. Consider Alber Elbaz. One can say that each Lanvin dress or jacket is a process of accumulation--pattern cutting, exterior and interior constructions, fabric selection, and fittings. After examining the different components that make up the Hyperfuse--mesh exterior layer, exterior upper body, outer and inner soles--I realized that a similar level of design and craftsmanship is involved.

I would venture to say that these four days seemed more like a mini “fashion show weekend” than a sporting event. Surely it’s hard not to appreciate the diverse street style on display by attendees at Ruckus Park--even the young teenagers’ sense of fashion and style were on point.

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Fashionista contributor Long Nguyen is the co-founder/style director of Flaunt.
There’s always a birthday to celebrate in Fashion Land. Two years ago it was the big 4-0 for Calvin Klein and Ralph Lauren, with an extravaganza on the High Line and a show/dinner on Central Park lawn, respectively. This fall marks the 25th year of Donna Karan and Tommy Hilfiger as well as the 40th year for Roberto Cavalli. And there’s sure to be plenty of events fêting these designers come Fashion Month.
Dolce & Gabbana also celebrated a birthday in 2010--the 20th year of its menswear line.
I'll always remember that day in January 1990, in the old showroom at Via Santa Cecilia, that Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana presented their first men’s collection, just five years after they had launched their womenswear label. I had started to work for Dolce & Gabbana in New York a year and a half earlier. In those days, I was the only employee. It was my first job in the fashion industry.

Would you sleep on the street for a week to score one of these shoes? Well, about 80 sneaker fanatics plan to do just that, setting up camp outside a Manhattan Foot Locker on W. 33, reports the New York Daily News.
Apparently, the motley crew of sneaker freaks arrived on Saturday, and have been waiting outside ever since, in order to snap up one of Nike's new Foamposite Galaxy shoe. To be clear, the shoe does not arrive stores until Friday. Yep, as in almost a week away from when they began camping out. Whoa.

Fashionista contributor Long Nguyen is the co-founder/style director of Flaunt.
Just a few minutes past midnight last night Alice Cooper took the stage and performed his perennial hit "School’s Out," released in 1972. This was just moments after ZZ Top sang "Foxy Lady." Darling Stilettos did the CBGB Ramones classics "Blitzkrieg Pop," and Donovan Leitch--with Camp Freddy and Perry Farrell--closed the show with the Jane Addiction classic "The Mountain Song." And that’s only a partial line up of the rockers that came out to perform in celebration of the launch of Original Moonshine and the tenth anniversary of John Varvatos’ menswear collection at the former CBGB space on Bowery, now Varvatos' store selling his main, USA and Converse collections. Rock & Roll, whiskey and fashion.
Designer fashion requires a narrative--a way of telling a story or relating a lifestyle that the clothes are mere accoutrements. For Mr. Varvatos, it’s his early affection for rock music that has provided the blood that has flowed through his work since launching his first collection for fall 2000. In his office it’s hard to locate a book on fashion, but the piles on his long coffee table include The Illustrated Biography of Bob Dylan, Rock Record 7, CBGB: Decade of Graffiti History and Punk, Made in the U.K – The Music Attitude 1977-1983, Who Shot Rock & Roll, and Ryan Adams and the Cardinals: A View of Other Windows. And off course a tome on The Doors, just to name a few. In reconnecting with his adolescent obsession with rock music Mr. Varvatos gives the brand a soul, or what we call "fashion."

His designs may not be such a hit with the fashion crowd but Kanye West's name can still command a huge price tag--when it comes to sneakers, anyway.
Kanye's new kicks for Nike, the Air Yeezy 2, don't come out until Saturday but some resourceful people have somehow gotten their hands on the much-hyped shoes and already listed them on eBay---for a lot of money.
Most of the sneaks are being listed for anywhere between $2,000-$7,000, but one pair--yes, one pair--fetched the mindblowingly high price of $89,100, TMZ is reporting.